Reckitt's Retail Media case: Win-win for brand, retailers and consumers

Retail Media Networks are big data gold mines for commerce. However, to harness their potential, it's crucial to move beyond traditional sampling and embrace unstructured data, prioritizing the search for correlations over singular causes to better explain trends.

‍Discover an in-depth breakdown of Reckitt's data management processes and learn what steps brands and retailers need to take for successful retail media data management. Access our full webinar, Beyond the Shelves: How Retail Media is Transforming Commerce, featuring Imteaz Ahamed, Reckitt’s Performance Marketing Director, or keep reading for the key insights. For webinar, just fill out the short form on the right!
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‍Step 1: Data Clean Rooms – what are they and how to leverage them

Data clean rooms are spaces where ad publishers (Amazon, Walmart, Kroger) share aggregated, rather than customer-level, data with brands, while still maintaining strict controls. Brands can then bring their own first-party data into the same space to see how it aligns with the aggregated data from the platforms. This allows brands to analyze how the datasets match up, using any inconsistencies to determine if they’re, for instance, over-serving ads to the same audiences.
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Master of Data Clean Rooms, Imteaz Ahamed, used a vivid metaphor to explain its principles.  

Data clean rooms serve three main functions:

1. Measurement: Brands can evaluate the performance of their campaigns with precision. By analyzing aggregated consumer data, they can understand which campaigns and audiences are driving the most engagement.

2. Planning: Data clean rooms allow brands to simulate different media mixes, seeing how hypothetical changes might impact their performance, a process that supports more informed, data-driven decision-making.

3. Activation: This is where data clean rooms truly shine, enabling brands to pinpoint specific audiences that are likely to convert.  
   ‍For instance, a diaper brand like Huggies might target consumers who recently searched for competitor brands within the last 30 days but haven’t yet made a purchase. With granular segmentation, brands can tailor their outreach with unparalleled accuracy.
   

Step 2: Organizational strategy and investment

Successfully navigating the retail media landscape requires more than data—it demands organizational alignment. Historically, CPGs have operated in silos, with media and sales teams functioning independently. Retail media blurs these lines, making cross-functional collaboration essential to creating campaigns that drive both engagement and revenue.
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Another key consideration is budget allocation. Should retail media spending come from the media budget, the shopper marketing budget, or sales? The answer varies widely across organizations. The most effective brands establish clear strategies that delineate budget sources and justify expenditures based on the high-quality insights gained.

Retailers, too, need to adjust to this new dynamic, taking on a dual role as both a distribution channel and a media partner. As retailers evolve, so must their relationships with Brands, fostering collaborative efforts that benefit both sides.
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‍Step 3: From data to insights, from insights into action & growth

A major advantage of retail media networks is the ability to test multiple types of advertising strategies, including paid search, display ads, and video. However, the insights gained through these analytics channels must be backed by behavioral testing to truly understand the “why” behind consumer behavior and form actionable insights.
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Behavioral in-context testing enables brands to see what resonates with consumers in real-world scenarios. For example, by using eye-tracking technology that follows real respondents eye movement as a part of nuanced behavioral mixed method research framework, brands can optimize both physical and online touchpoints to capture shopper attention, helping ensure that they’re not only noticed, but that the right message is sent from a right place to drive sales.

In other words, while data management reveals which campaigns are more or less effective, understanding the “why” behind those results offers insights into how to optimize campaign assets.
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EyeSee’s unique testing approach can also provide valuable answers before campaign launch, addressing questions such as:

1. What is the optimal store positioning for the campaign?

2. What is the best mix of retail media channels for maximum effectiveness?

3. Are your campaign assets being used optimally?
   
   

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In conclusion: Data-driven collaboration for long-term success
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In the evolving retail landscape, data management and retail media networks are transforming how brands and retailers connect with consumers. By fostering data-driven partnerships, both parties unlock new levels of precision, allowing for hyper-targeted advertising and more relevant, valuable consumer experiences.
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For brands, the transition to data-driven insights and a collaborative approach isn’t just a competitive advantage—it’s essential for sustainable growth. Those who navigate the complexities of retail media most successfully will be the ones who build agile teams that handle data management with ease and turn them into actionable insights. In the end, the true winners should be the consumers, who benefit from more relevant content and a seamless, personalized shopping journey.

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